Blog dedicated to helping homeless, and others in need in Central Ohio through knitting, crocheting, and looming.

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Our mission is to warm those in need through knitting, crocheting, looming and quilting. Our NEW hand made items provide hope to those living outdoors and those in temporary shelters. We provide for Men, Women, and Children in Central Ohio all year long. Specific details available by clicking item specific tabs, or the Who we Help Tab. If you have further questions, please contact me via the contact form. ALL DONATIONS MUST INCLUDE A NOTE WITH AN EMAIL ADDRESS.

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Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Knitting Looms

A-Z Challenge =L= Loom
These are plastic colorful looms in 4 sizes with the special hook one needs along with a darning needle. This is what you typically get in a kit. The kits are inexpensive and easy to use. They produce knitting and have become very popular. They're a good way to knit, if you don't know how to knit, as well as just something different to do. When they first became popular they were primarily used to knit hats. Some looms are plastic, some are wood and some are super flexible.

The size is consistent regardless of what brand you buy. The knitting gauge is based on the space between the pegs. Some folks even make their own looms. Now looms come in ovals, rectangles, and stripes in addition to these basic circles. People have tweaked patterns and you can make scarves, mittens and more on them. We have those who donate to Bridge and Beyond for the Homeless using these types of looms. They are generally used with double yarn, or bulky yarn and many feel the knitting goes faster on looms then hand knitting with needles. I confess, that while I have a set of looms (have for years), I've not really used them. Perhaps someday I'll give them a try.

When we were kids, we used looms...looms made from wooden spools of empty thread. Yes! I am that old that I remember wooden spools of thread, in fact I still have a few, lol You could pound small nails evenly around a large wooden spool and for a hook.........we used a diaper pin. See told you I was old....diaper pins, mothers today don't even have any on hand. All we could make back then was a cord, but we did it for hours at a time.

All donations regardless of size and number are valued. All donations are appreciated. The Power of One is awesome, and when we work together The Power of One becomes The Power of Many.

28 comments:

Your wooden spool with nails on with which you made a thick cord that came out the bottom was called, I believe, "corking". I had one as a kid. You made miles of cord and then got your mom to coil it and sew it together for a dresser mat or a small rug.

I had one of the original spool looms also. Dont remember much about it but I do remember one of my aunts teaching me how. She was a kindergarten teacher and used me as a test student in many of her school projects..:+)As to these newer plastic looms I would have to say that if you have arthritic wrists like I do they are not a good idea. Very painful time spent last year trying to learn to use them and realizing that my wrists are no longer strong enough to manage it. Made a doll hat and quit.Have several friends who like me gave it a try and never mentioned it again:+)Wound up making up a donation of the looms and yarn and sending them off to a Special Ed class, here in the city. Hope they enjoyed them more then I did .GOD BLESS THE HOMELESS..marj in minnesota

I remember those spool looms also. I bought a set of the plastic looms for my granddaughter. I thought it would be easier for her than knitting with needles. Actually it was. She picked up the routine quicker than I did. We both lost interest pretty quickly though. I’ll stick to my needles and hooks.

I had these looms also. I thought it would be a good and different way to make hats other than knitting needles and crochet hooks. I did not like the end result. The hat was really loose. I put it down never to be picked up again. Not even sure what happened to them. I'll stick with knitting and crocheting thank you. :)

Aww, I have a nice flashback to my childhood about wooden spools with little nail in them. They were a lot of fun. I used to knit, crochet, needlepoint and weave a lot in my young adulthood. I've gotten away from all that now. Life ... you know. Thanks for the post. Have fun with the A-Z Challenge!

I saw a loom similar to this at Walmart that I think said you could knit a scarf. I was wondering if it actually worked, but now I'm thinking it might work. Will have to check it out after the challenge; could be a quick easy way to make scarves!

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Where are You and Your Yarn From?

I'm trying to identify where everyone is from, partially for fun. Take a look at the map. Also, believe it will aid me in cases where we have several people with the same name. Please look at the lists of bloggers and non bloggers and see if I have the state you hail from. If not, please leave a comment and let me know.

Additionally, we've had help from Scotland, England, Germany Puerto Rico, Canada, and France! They don't appear on the map, but their help is still greatly appreciated.